Clandestine crossings : migrants and coyotes on the Texas-Mexico border /

This close ethnographic study of the border-crossing experiences--"clandestine crossings"--of undocumented Mexicans in search of jobs and better lives for their families complements all the statistical studies, policy analyses, novelized accounts, and journalists' reports previously produced on this controversial subject, which continues to elude political resolution. Spener (Trinity Univ.) conducted scores of interviews in Spanish with both migrants and pateros, polleros, and especially coyotes, the co-ethnic guides and traffickers who lead migrants al norte for exorbitant fees. This focus on the human traffickers and their networks--what the author terms coyotaje--distinguishes this study from other ethnographies of migration. By locating his research site in south Texas, known for the virulent anti-Mexican racism of the region's white settlers since the 19th century, which resulted in a form of apartheid or racial segregation, the author situates race squarely in the middle of his account. The obligatory social science jargon and nod to high theorists notwithstanding, this is a highly readable and moving account that humanizes migrants and even some coyotes. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. E. Hu-DeHart Brown University